greater than.

Yesterday, June 12, my amazingly stupendous awesomest parents celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary. 35 years, wow! That's a really long time. It's big anniversaries like these that are soooo awesome because you get to celebrate the crazy and inspiring reality that the years you've been married are greater than the years you haven't been...nuts! The majority of your life you've been in love with this person, living life as one, enduring challenges and sufferings, sharing smiles and laughs, being partners and best friends, making a family, and growing together. We only have a tiny taste of this in our one little year, but how stoked are we to keep loving, loving, loving! If it weren't for Mom and Pop's marriage, I would have never known what to look for in a husband, nor would I have had the courage to choose to find a love like theirs. I owe so much to them, their friendship, and their love. Happy Anniversary! We hope you enjoyed your relaxing beach weekend together.

P.S. You owe us some piña coladas!

And after 35 years, the journey continues...

:: victoria marie

second time around.

There it is. Our bright pink wedding cake. Thank you, Tina Bass, for capturing not only this picture, but all the rest of our beautiful wedding photos.

Yeah I know, our cake was definitely not classic-looking, but it was bright, bold, and most importantly - deliciously yummy!

As tradition goes, we saved the top of our wedding cake and ate it on our anniversary. Shockingly, it was really really good. We both took a bite at the same time (in case something crazy happened) I mean, it was a year old. And who expects something frozen that long to taste like anything other than nasty freezer burn? Well, our pink cake, the second time around, was mmmm-mmm good! Compliments to the chef's, Tasty Pasty Bakery - another family owned awesome Tallahassee business.

For those of you who are observant and attentive to detail - yes, my slice of cake is sitting on a Pottery Barn catalog. The catalog was on the coffee table because it's my guilty pleasure - flipping through the pages, that is. I don't ever buy anything, I just flip through the pages of beautifully simple style and design, and dream of being a homeowner so I can have my own blank canvas to fill with all things pretty and homey. One day.

We also broke out our fine china for this wedding cake revival event. Early on in our marriage, we said we would use the fine china for all special occasions: birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and anything else exciting and celebratory. Well, I used to have an exceptional memory, then I came down with a condition most refer to as "mommy-brain," and let's just say my memory is not as sharp as it used to be. So, thanks to my awesome husband, he remembered this tradition and served our pink cake on our fine china plates. Totally my better-half and don't ever let him tell you otherwise.

And because I've never mentioned that baby Belle's my little writing companion, here's her napping on mommy, as I type away.

by no means.

beautiful baby Belle - 1 month old.

by no means does it feel like one whole month. 
by no means have I ever wanted to be so much for someone.
by no means have I been the best mommy.
by no means am I done learning what it takes.
by no means did I imagine you to be this beautiful.
by no means did I think someone so little could make my heart feel so big.
by no means could I have known loving you would be my greatest accomplishment.

conviction.

laughter.

ambition.

adventure.

best friendship.

by no means does it feel like a year.
by no means did I think we could laugh this much.
by no means did I think we would cry this much.
by no means did I think I could ever feel this beautiful.
by no means am I done working on my kitchen skills.
by no means am I the perfect wife.
by no means did I know such strength in your faith. 
by no means did I know the value of having so much while possessing so little.
by no means did I know the self-gift of sacrifice.
by no means have I ever felt this free.
by no means have I been this challenged, stretched, and encouraged.
by no means could I have ever imagined love this strong.
by no means could I be more blessed with you as our daughter's father.
by no means 1 year ago today, while vowing to love you forever, could I have forseen this past year's journey and now 1 year later...
by no means can I forsee the bliss of the years that await.

Happy 1 Month, Marabelle.
Happy 1 Year, Joseph.

Without their love, I wouldn't be me.

:: victoria marie

50% isn't good enough.

Today marks 33 years since my in-laws fully committed to love each other till death do they part, and I couldn’t be more grateful for their never ending devotion.

Wedding anniversaries should always, always, and ALWAYS be celebrated. Especially since 50% of first time marriages end in divorce in this country, and the statistics only get worse for subsequent marriages.

But it’s not only the marriage itself we should celebrate with wedding anniversaries. The IMPACT a marriage has on husband and wife, their families, and our society as a whole, is also just as worthy of honoring.

You can call me a punk, or someone who is still in the “honeymoon” stage of her marriage, who is floating high in the clouds captivated by young love’s bliss. And so what…I may not know as much about marriage as others who have more years under their belt, but having experienced marriage first-hand, I know it’s not always easy and it’s not always perfect…but it is most definitely ALWAYS worth fighting for.

My husband and I both grew up with parents who didn’t have the word divorce in their vocabularies. They were consistent in choosing love, especially when it wasn’t always comfortable. One reason why today is such a special day in my life is because I know Joseph wouldn’t be the amazing husband he is without the witness of his parents selfless love. So basically while I was growing up, my in-laws marriage was already positively impacting brace-face, acne populated me, long before I knew who they were and the huge role they would come to play in my post-puberty life…pretty sweet! If I weren’t pregnant, I’d totally toast to them tonight with a fancy drink, but for now my watered-down Gatorade will have to do. :)

I’m also extremely grateful for life-long marriages and the effect they’ve had on the lives of those who didn’t have the same example. That’s why wedding anniversaries should be societal celebrations because ~love is love~ and it will continuously find a way of influencing you, even indirectly. Just like Spades (one of my favorite card games) illustrates, someone else’s hand can still profoundly impact your fortune, even though it wasn’t directly dealt to you.

For those of you who are wondering, no those arent my in-laws in the picture. That’d be pretty sweet if I had a picture of them like that from their wedding day. But since I don’t, Joseph and I will have to do. Plus, him not letting me go is a tribute to them and their testament to love.

And to my in-laws ~ I’m sorry, but the shipping date of your gift wasn’t exactly verifiable and apparently she’ll be a little late. :)

:: victoria marie